White House unveils plan for $259 million East Wing ballroom
The White House plans to start works in September on a new ballroom estimated to cost some S$259 million.
WASHINGTON – The White House intends to begin construction in September on a new ballroom estimated to cost US$200 million (S$259 million), following through on President Donald Trump's plans for a larger space to host formal events.
'It'll be a great legacy project, and I think it'll be special,' Mr Trump told reporters at a White House event on July 31 , adding that the project would be paid for by himself and possibly donors as well. 'It's a private thing. I'll do it and we'll probably have some donors or whatever.'
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the plans earlier on July 31 , saying that the ballroom would be located in the East Wing of the building. The plan outlines the construction of a 8,361 sq m space with a seating capacity of 650 people.
The lead architect for the project will be DC-based McCrery Architects, while Clark Construction will head the construction team and AECOM will lead the engineering team, according to the White House. The US Secret Service will handle necessary security enhancements.
Currently the first lady's office is located in the East Wing. Ms Leavitt said the East Wing would be 'modernised' and that the offices located there – which also include the White House military office and visitors office – would be temporarily relocated during construction.
Mr Trump has repeatedly said he wants a larger ballroom at the official presidential residence for formal entertaining.
The president said that the work 'won't interfere with the current building' and pays 'total respect' to the existing structure's architectural style.
The plans were announced as Mr Trump and allies have assailed the Federal Reserve and its chair, Mr Jerome Powell, over construction work at the central bank's building. Mr Trump last week visited the Fed site to view the construction work alongside Mr Powell.
The president and his allies have seized on cost overruns for the Fed work, now estimated at US$2.5 billion, with Mr Trump in a social-media post earlier on July 31 accusing Mr Powell of overseeing 'one of the most incompetent, or corrupt, renovations of a building(s) in the history of construction!'
Mr Powell has said security concerns and the need to carry out underground construction have added to the cost and has cast media reports about the work as inaccurate. BLOOMBERG
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Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Singapore High Court rules that property ‘decoupling' is illegal if done solely to avoid taxes
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox While buyers are free to hold their stakes in a 99-to-1 arrangement, the transaction could be illegal if the decoupling was undertaken to avoid paying more tax. SINGAPORE – Couples who transfer full ownership of their first home to one spouse – a gambit known as 'decoupling' – so that the other can buy another property without the additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD), are breaking the law if the sole purpose of the move is to avoid tax, the High Court has found. The finding stemmed from a recent dispute involving an unmarried couple who held their first property in the ratio of 99 to 1 in favour of the woman. But when they broke up, the former boyfriend claimed he owned at least half of the home, and not just 1 per cent. A reason for holding the property 99-to-1 was that they had planned a decoupling to avoid the ABSD for their second property. This would be achieved when the boyfriend transferred away his minute share so that he can buy a second property as a non-owner. Although the decoupling did not materialise, the court scrutinised such transactions and found that owners who decouple in this manner could be committing tax evasion as well as the underpayment of stamp duty if the 99-to-1 holding was found to be a sham. High Court Judge Lee Seiu Kin noted that while buyers were free to hold their stakes in a 99-to-1 arrangement, the transaction could be illegal if the decoupling was undertaken to avoid paying more tax. For instance, if the 1 per cent owner gave up the share but had an arrangement to still co-own the same property, the individual would be deemed to have evaded tax by wrongful declaration of ownership interests. If that same owner – while still a 'beneficial' owner of the first property – then bought another residence without paying ABSD, he could be accused of using the decoupling scheme to dupe the taxman. 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Tax evasion and avoidance The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) did not comment on Justice Lee's finding specifically but noted that any breaches of tax law depend on the specific circumstances of each case. For tax avoidance, Iras will check whether the arrangement 'is artificial, contrived or has little or no commercial substance and is designed to obtain a tax advantage that is not intended by Parliament'. As for tax evasion, this happens when individuals deliberately provide Iras with inaccurate or incomplete information with the aim of reducing their tax liability. Iras says it takes a serious view against those who evade or avoid tax, as well as professionals who promote or facilitate tax avoidance arrangements. The couple in the recent case did not breach any tax law because they neither decoupled nor bought a second property. Buyers should act in good faith Singapore's leading tax expert Stephen Phua said the case should serve as a cautionary tale for property buyers to act in good faith and avoid having secret arrangements to hide their true ownership interests. Decoupling is not wrong if a joint owner makes an outright transfer of his share in that property because this owner, who no longer has any property, can then buy another without being liable for ABSD. 'The problem comes if the owner continues to retain a beneficial interest in the property after the transfer via a secret arrangement. If this scheme is exposed, such as in a dispute, the consequences could be severe,' said Associate Professor Phua, who teaches tax laws at NUS. Take a couple who hold their first property 99-to-1 as part of a decoupling plan to buy a second property. They could be in trouble if it is found that they intended to share both properties jointly. In this example, Prof Phua says the couple could face two tax penalties – one for underpayment of stamp duty in the decoupling, and another for not paying ABSD on the second property. Justice Lee's finding comes about two years after Iras clamped down on an unrelated 99-to-1 ABSD avoidance scheme that involved first-time buyers using artificial transfer agreements to rope in relatives for mortgage purposes. An insurance broker told The Straits Times that he has come across at least five lawyers being sued by clients due to Iras enforcement. He added: 'I think it is prudent for lawyers to study the latest court case carefully when advising clients on transfers of properties between co-owners, especially if it is being done with the view of buying another residential property.'
